The Red Rocker Sammy Hagar has had a career filled with success since he kicked it off with his band Montrose. After Montrose, he replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen and established an unforgettable legacy with the band. He never gave music up and was always busy creating, and he has even formed supergroups like Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle.
Fans and critics have hardly underestimated his vocal talents. The producer Ted Templeman, who had also worked with Doobie Brothers and Van Morrison, named Hagar as the best rock singer in a 2020 interview. However, before he built a rich legacy in the rock industry and was still a young singer, the Red Rocker had a few people he looked up to and even tried to be like.
Who Did Sammy Hagar Desire To Be?
In a 2015 interview, The Red Rocker talked about his favorite albums. He named ‘Truth’ by The Jeff Beck Group as one of his favorite records of all time and explained why. Also featuring Rod Stewart, the two big names that contributed to the album, made Hagar want to be them. He stated that he tried to be Stewart and Beck simultaneously and learned both of their parts in every song. He was a big fan, and the record changed his life.
Here is what he said about wanting to be them:
“I look at the Beatles and the Stones as coming out at the same time. Same with Bob Dylan and Donovan, Jeff Beck, and Led Zeppelin. Music is kind of like that: There’s always a white-light band and a dark, edgy band.
This is almost like a Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart album. When I heard the ‘Truth’ album, I tried to be Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck at the same time. I learned every song on it. I knew Beck from the Yardbirds, and I was a big fan, so I was primed to hear him doing his own thing. This record totally blew my mind and changed my life.”
Jeff Beck Group was formed in 1967 by Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, and Ronnie Wood. The bassists and the drummers changed every once in a while. These iconic names coming together excited the music industry, and they were pretty successful.
Hagar’s favorite album ‘Truth’ had reached no. 15 in the US charts and the lineup for this album included John Paul Jones and Keith Moon. It was created in only two weeks as everyone was busy with other projects and their main bands. They were able to follow the release up with a tour, and even Jimi Hendrix ended up jamming with them as a Jeff Beck fan.
